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(No Model.)

F. H. RICHARDS.

GRAIN WEIGHER.

' Patented Dec. 23,1890.

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N lin FRANCIS Il. RICHRDS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO TllE PRATT d" VIIITNEY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE..

SPECFCATON forming part ci' Letters Patent No. 448,180, dated December 23, 1890.

Original application filed February Z6, 1890. Serial No. 341,196. Divided and this application tiled July lll, 1890. Serial No.

T (all 'INI/0m t may concern.:

'3e it known that I, FnANcrs H. RrcHARns, a citizen oi' the United States, residing at Hart ford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in GrainVeighcrs, of

" which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to grain-weighers;

and it consists in regulator apparatus there to for, the object being` to furnish means suitable for actuating the regulator-valves of large-sized grain-weighing machines.

This application is a division of my application, Serial No. 341,106, iiled February 20, I5 1890, to which reference may be had for a more particular description of those parts shown, but not fully described herein.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view ol a regulator-hopper and apparatus embodying my present improvements. Fig. 2 is a vertical section in line a a, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1, a portion of the movable regulator being broken away. Fig. Ll is a side ele vation of the apparatus, showing the grainweigher frame-work with regulator-valve carried thereon. l

Similar characters designate like parts in all the iigures.

The frame-work 'for carrying the operative parts of the machine usually, and as shown in the drawings, comprises two side frames or uprights 2 and 4, held together by a top plate 5, carrying a supply-chute ll', and by the hopper l), which in this case constitutes the base of the machine. Said hopper stands under the grain-bucket,l as shown in my said prior application, and receives the grain discharged by said bucket, which passes down through the continuously-open discharge-outlet 107 to a grain-receiving conduit or machine. (Not shown.) The several sides constituting the iioor of the hopper P are inclined down- 1,5A wardly toward said outlet 107, in a well-known manner, so that any grain delivered into any part of the hopper P will slide down said i'loor parts toward said outlet.. The front part of the hopper-floor is divided byan opening into two parts 114 and 116,011 whose adjacent edges (No model.)

are the depending1 side walls 108 and 100, which openin adjoins and communicates with the discharge-outlet 107. Below said iloor-opening there is suitably supported a vertically-movable regulator R, which is pivoted nearits upper end at 0S and 90 to said hopper, and at its lower end is connected by a rod 101 (pivoted thereto at 102) with the arm 10i, which is lifted to a rock-shaft 105, that is jou rnaled in the aforesaid uprights 2 and 4. From the sides of the principal part or plate 100 of said regulator R rise side walls 110 and 112, respectively, which stand at some distance outside of the walls 108 and 100, leaving a free space, as 115, ior grain between the walls of each pair of walls, respectively. Said side spaces 115 should be wider horizontally than the largest dimensions ot the kernels of grain, so as to avoid clogging of the regulator bythe grain wedging between the vertical walls.

The shaft 105 is actuated for the raising ot' the regulator R by mean-s of acounter-weight 1l,which is carried on the weight arm or lever 10, that is fixed to said shaft. For connecting said shaft with the regulator-valve, the shaft is provided with an arm 117, which is connected by a rod 1 3 to the arm 53 of the regulator valve 50, that is carried on pivots 55, supported on the supply-chute I-I. The organization of these several parts is such, substantially as shown in Fig. 1, that the valve will be moved under the chute ll on the descent of the regulator R, and vice versa.

rlhe regulator R has at its lower edge a depending wall forming the front wall of the discharge-outlet 107 of the hopper P, and the side walls 110 and 112 of said regulator extend for some distance alongside ot the side walls 108 and 100 of the discharge-outlet, thus directing the flow of grain from the spaces 115 115 between the regulator and hopper vertical walls.

The operation of my improved regulator apparatus will be evident from the drawings and preceding description. `When the regulatorplate 100 is raised nearly to the side walls 10S and 109, as shown in Figs. 2 and al., the regulatorwalve stands open, as shown in Fig. 4L. Grain being now delivered into the hopper l in sufiicient quantity, the pressure ICQ thereof `on the plate 100 carries down the same, and through the connections described raises the counter-Weight l1 and closes the Valve 50 under the chute H. During this action of the mechanism, the grain Works freely under the Walls 108 and 109 against the regulator-Walls 110 and 112, respectively, and on the rising of the regulator said grain is carried up (more or less) between the Walls of each pair ot' walls in the spaces 115 115; but (said spaces being of sufficient Width) as the grain slides down the hopper sides toward the discharge-outlet 107 the grain between said Walls also slides down toward said outlet, thus preventing any clogging` of the regulator. Then the grain has been sufliciently discharged through said outlet 107, the counter-Weight ll overbalances.theweight of and pressure on the regulator' and raises said regulator and closes the regulator-valve, Wh en the parts again stand as shown in Fig. 4.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. Inagrain-Weigherhavingasupply-chute and a regulator-valve therefor, the combination, with the fixed hopper located belen7 the grain-bucket and having a continuously-open discharge-outlet, and having a Hoor-opening, substantially as described,in one of the floor- Walls thereof adjoining and connecting with said discharge-outlet, of the vertically-mov able regulator-plate underneath and closing said floor-opening from the outer edge thereof to said discharge-opening vand normally supported by counter-Weighting, said plate being connected with the Valve, whereby the machine is regulated by the action of the grain on said plate.

2. In agrain-weigher, the combination, with a supply-chute and the regulator-valve and with the hopper having a discharge-opening and the floor-opening at one side thereof, and having the depending Walls at the edges of said opening, of the counterweighted regulator-plate 100, having side walls 110 112 outside of said depending walls, .said plate being connected with the regulator-valve, and there being a fre space between vthe adjacent depending and lside Walls.

FRANCIS H. RCHARDS. Witnesses HENRY L. RECKARD, LEWIS C. HEERMANN. 

